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<title>Scratches: Or, how I stopped worrying about being a dinosaur animagus and started using it to eviscerate Death Eaters by Useful_Oxymoron</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24542305">Scratches: Or, how I stopped worrying about being a dinosaur animagus and started using it to eviscerate Death Eaters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Useful_Oxymoron/pseuds/Useful_Oxymoron'>Useful_Oxymoron</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Animagus, Bellatrix likes animals, Dinosaurs, F/F, Velociraptors</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:14:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,565</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24542305</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Useful_Oxymoron/pseuds/Useful_Oxymoron</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Hermione Granger discovered her unique animagus form, she takes it for a spin in the Forbidden Forest and comes across someone unexpected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Bellatrix Black Lestrange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>611</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamkissed/gifts">Dreamkissed</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Bloody hell, Hermione! What the devil is that?!”</p><p>These were Ron's words when Hermione had finally managed to assume her animagus form after months and months of preparation.</p><p>Which form a witch would get was always a bit of a crapshoot. Animagi were rare in itself and were usually mundane creatures. A magical creature as an animagus form was exceedingly rare. But an extinct animagus form? That was unique.</p><p>At first Hermione thought that something had gone wrong when she'd first seen her form in the mirror. Her form was that of a two foot high flightless bird with a tail twice as long as her body. Strong legs with razor sharp curled talons supported her body, while her head sported a snout which was vaguely beak-like and filled with razor-sharp teeth. Vestigal wings and tail had a rich plumage to boot.</p><p>Some research later, she discovered that her animagus form was that of a Velociraptor. In fact, a Velociraptor Mongoliensis, to be precise. Curious. She had expected a Velociraptor to have scales or a leathery skin. But dinosaurs had never really been her area of expertise and she discovered that, indeed, Velociraptors were covered with feathers both small and large.</p><p>Hermione quickly grew to like it quite a lot. There was a distinct pleasure in being unique and being a dinosaur had its advantages.</p><p>Like many days before, Hermione enjoyed trying out her new form by running through the Forbidden Forest. All her senses seemed to be heightened: there were so many smells in the forest, so many sounds. She ran through the forest effortlessly, with tremendous speed. She jumped over branches before she even saw them. It was like she was processing information from her senses so much quicker than with her human body.</p><p>Getting used to the speed was one thing, but she was glad to have two legs. Other animagi seemingly had a lot of trouble getting used to walking on four legs or struggling with flying. Not Hermione. In fact, she was seriously considering going hunting at some point. She was certain she could outrun a rabbit easily.</p><p>Hermione came up to the grove and decided to have a little fun. The moment she saw the clearing, she jumped over a fallen log and off the rocky incline, only to land expertly on a large flat rock in the middle of the grove. Feeling quite proud herself Hermione started to preen... and only realize she had failed to notice she wasn't alone in the grove.</p><p>She turned her head and almost fell off the rock in sheer surprise. Only a few meters away, stood Bellatrix Lestrange of all people. With a small sickle and a bag in her gloved hand, she appeared to have been collecting stingweed from the rockface. Hermione, having suffered greatly at the hands of this vile woman, had more than her hackles raised when the dark witch slowly turned to face her.</p><p>“Well, hello there,” spoke Bellatrix. “And what are you supposed to be, then?”</p><p>Her voice... was so gentle. So soft. Hermione had only ever heard her shriek, shout and cackle. It was as if this soft voice could simply not belong to the same woman.</p><p>Naturally, Hermione turned to flee as fast as her legs could carry her. And Velociraptor legs were very fast indeed.</p><p>Unfortunately, she'd turned the wrong way and ran straight into a rockface, effectively ending her escape attempt before it had even started. Worse yet, she had managed to trap herself between a rock and a hard place.</p><p>“I've never seen a creature such as you before,” Bellatrix spoke gently again.</p><p>There was a smile on her face. An honest-to-god genuine smile!</p><p>“No, no,” Bellatrix approached carefully. “Don't worry. I won't hurt you.”</p><p>Laughable. But for some reason, for some unfathomable reason, Hermione believed her. Still, she didn't want the vile witch to get too close to her.</p><p>Hermione thought a moment and decided that she should hiss. Yes. Definitely hiss. And make herself look big! So she threw her tail in the air, hunched forward and let out a faint and apparently less than convincing hiss.</p><p>Bellatrix was still approaching, hunching towards her while clicking her tongue and... cooing? Oh dear lord, Bellatrix was <em>cooing</em><span> at her. “Would you like something to eat?” the vile woman asked.</span></p><p>By now, Bellatrix had put away her bag and sickle and removed her gloves. From her pouch she removed what seemed to be a small lunchbox. When she opened it, the smell of spicy cooked chicken hit her nostrils. It smelled good. It smelled <em>very </em><span>good. In fact, it smelled better than it should.</span></p><p>“<span>Here,” Bellatrix offered a large piece, stretching her hand forward. Hermione craned her neck forward to sniff the chicken. Instantly, all her senses were on fire and instincts were taking over. After carefully taking the chicken from Bellatrix, Hermione chewed it and found it to be the single most delicious piece of chicken she had ever tasted in her entire life. “There you go,” Bellatrix cooed. “You like that, don't you?”</span></p><p>Hermione wondered if all animals were always this easy to bribe with food.</p><p>A soft hand started to carefully stroke her fluffy feathers and nails started to give the gentlest of scratches. Instantly, Hermione was overcome with joy, shudders growing through her entire body. Scratches behind her ear, the top of her head, underneath her chin. At one point, she lost control of one of her legs and started stamping on the ground repeatedly. There was an odd sound, resembling a purring, rolling warble... and it took her a moment to realize that she herself was making this noise.</p><p>There was an innocent, almost childlike laugh from Bellatrix. “Yes,” she cooed. “You like that, don't you? Good girl. Pretty girl.”</p><p>Bellatrix Lestrange liked animals. Who could have known?</p><p>This almost felt like a revelation of a sort. Bellatrix Lestrange actually had a human side to her. Perhaps, though, Hermione should be careful to conceal the fact that Bellatrix was basically petting a mudblood at this point. She couldn't let Bellatrix discover that she wasn't really an animal!</p><p>Hermione presented her neck to Bellatrix for more delicious scratches and again she warbled in sheer joy.</p><p>That was, until, a second person entered the grove. This black cloaked figure raised all of Hermione's hackles. The figure was a man and smelled vaguely of mildew. He had a long, black beard and a severe expression. “Bella, what is taking so... what the hell is that ugly thing?!” he shouted.</p><p>“Oh, fuck you, Rabastan!” shouted Bellatrix. It made Hermione wince and recoil. This was the Bellatrix she was used to. “Why do you always have to ruin everything?!”</p><p>“We are here to gather ingredients! Not pet... weird... things...” Rabastan scrutinized her. “What the hell even is that?! It's ugly and it stinks.”</p><p>
  <em>Stinks?! How rude!</em>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione hissed in response.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Ugly?</span> No, don’t listen to the mean old man. You’re very, very pretty… So very pretty,” Bellatrix cooed again. “And you smell very nice!”</p><p>Rabastan snorted, wand now in hand. “I bet it smells nicer dead,” he grinned. “Hey. Birdie. Hey birdie! Wanna see a pretty green light?”</p><p>“Rabastan!” Bellatrix snarled, drew her own wand and stood in between her and Rabastan. “The fact that you don't have much of a cock to speak of doesn't mean you have to overcompensate by <em>being</em><span> a cock!”</span></p><p>
  <span>It was then that instinct completely took over. Seeing an opening, Hermione darted past a surprised Bellatrix and launched herself into the air while hurtling towards Rabastan Lestrange. The man didn't even have time to yelp when the transfigured Hermione hit him square in the chest talons first. Rabastan was knocked off his feet, losing his wand in the process. The moment he hit the ground, Hermione started to rip, rend and tear without mercy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blood splatters were sent flying as razor-sharp talons ripped through clothes, skin and flesh. The shouting wizard seemed horrified and tried to throw her off him while Hermione held on with teeth and claw. He rolled over the ground with Hermione still on him, which resulted in only more of his body being assaulted. Splatters of blood became jets of blood.</span>
</p><p>There was something about the taste of fresh blood in her mouth with made her go absolutely wild. It was even better than the chicken. No matter what the wizard did, Hermione would not relent. The man and the ground were covered with shed blood. Hermione's white chest-feathers had turned an ugly red. The other sound in the grove was that of Bellatrix laughing and clapping like an eager child.</p><p>Finally, a bloodied and trembling Rabastan managed to free himself from the feathery murder floof and instantly started running like a headless chicken while screaming bloody murder. Hermione gave chase for a few meters and hissed after him.</p><p>“Hahahah!” Bellatrix giggled. “Clever girl! Clever, clever girl!”</p><p>The dark witch was besides her. Hermione, still covered in blood, simply stood there.</p><p>“For that wonderful display,” cooed Bellatrix, her voice so soft and kind again. “I do believe you've earned yourself a treat.”</p><p>Hermione was presented with the rest of the content of Bellatrix' lunchbox, about twelve more pieces of that delicious chicken.</p><p>While Hermione ate, the dark witch sat next to her to treat her to more scratches.</p><p>
  <em>Scratches! Yes, more scratches, please.</em>
</p><p>The lovely sensations made Hermione warble merrily into the night.</p><p>
  <em>All the scratches!</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Due to popular demand, this one-shots gets a proper ending. :)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The wind blew through Hermione's feathers as she raced through the dark forest, jumping over logs, rocks and ducking under branches.</p>
<p>She had gotten used to being in her dinosaur form now and had even hunted the occasional rabbit. Though her human self found the act of eating bloodied flesh beyond distasteful, her inner animal side demanded it every so often. Such was the price to pay for being an animagus.</p>
<p>Today, however, she would not need to hunt. But she would have to hurry as she was almost late. With the speed of a striking thought, the dinosaur animagus shot out of the underbrush and jumped right into the familiar grove.</p>
<p>As usual, Bellatrix was waiting for her. The curly-haired dark witch's eyes lit up the moment she saw Hermione stood near the edge of the forest. Bellatrix sat down on a large shale stone and patted the space next to her. And, as usual, Hermione trotted over and lay down beside her. Almost immediately, she was the happy recipient of nails running through her feathers.</p>
<p>“Good evening, girl,” Bellatrix cooed softly.</p>
<p>Hermione answered with a brief warble while Bellatrix stroked her.</p>
<p>This has been their almost nightly ritual for the past three months. Hermione would visit the grove where Bellatrix talked and stroked her feathers. The sad part was that Bellatrix didn't seem to have anyone to talk to other than her. Often she would pour her heart out. Sometimes she would unwittingly give her good information on Death Eater plans... which Hermione then passed on to the Order.</p>
<p>Something Hermione was feeling increasingly guilty over.</p>
<p>“Here,” said Bellatrix, producing a lunchbox. She opened it and it was filled with some pieces of chicken. “Made these myself, believe it or not. They're only slightly burned.”</p>
<p>Hermione gently ate a piece from the palm of Bellatrix' hand. They were lovely and Hermione savored the taste.</p>
<p>“Today might be the last time we speak,” Bellatrix spoke solemnly. “We attack Hogwarts tomorrow.”</p>
<p>That got Hermione's attention. Of course, it had only been a matter of time. Hermione raised her head, glancing at Bellatrix while being fed another piece of chicken.</p>
<p>“There'll be a big push towards the courtyard. We'll throw everything we've got at the front gate,” said Bellatrix. “But that's just a diversion from the main plan. I'll be leading a small group of the most powerful Death Eaters who'll infiltrate from the other side of the castle at the clock tower. We'll attack the main defenders in the back and flush them out into the courtyard. It'll be a massacre.”</p>
<p>Bellatrix fell silent for a moment. “For them or for us,” said Bellatrix. “It was the Dark Lord's plan. But... somehow I think he doesn't expect me to survive.”</p>
<p>There was bitterness in Bellatrix' words and expression. Eyes slightly watery, she stroked her feathers. The first tears fell soon after. “Fourteen years of Azkaban. Fourteen! And for what? He treats me and my family like dirt and now throws me away like a dirty dishrag! It was never about magical purity, it was all about him and his own obsession with immortality. We were just tools and fodder. Tomorrow, we're all going to throw ourselves off a cliff like a bunch of lemmings regardless!”</p>
<p>Bellatrix snorted and looked Hermione in the eye. “And so will I. Where else could I go? What else could I even do?”</p>
<p>Hermione cocked her head sideways and let out a brief warble. It wasn't the first time Bellatrix had expressed such doubts over the path she had chosen. Doubts which had been getting increasingly numerous.</p>
<p>“You know, I sometimes think back to the girl I met... <em>met</em><span>... there's a laugh. </span><em>Tortured</em><span>. The girl I tortured,” Bellatrix muttered. “She reminds me a lot of myself when I was her age. Devoted, idealistic, strong in her convictions... maybe that's why I did such a number on her. The sooner she gets that kind of foolishness out of her system, the better. Or she might end up like </span><em>me.</em><span>”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione took another piece of chicken from the palm of her hand. “Good girl!” Bellatrix cooed and followed it up with some scratches over her neck which Hermione rewarded with more joyful warbles. “I say, you probably only love me for my chicken and my scratches, hm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione stopped warbling, instead raising her neck to look Bellatrix in the eye. She curled up next to Bellatrix and gently craned her neck to lay her head in Bellatrix' lap. The dark witch chuckled and started stroking her, softly moving her fingers back and forth through the feathers of her head and neck. Hermione closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the sensations.</span>
</p>
<p>“<span>You know,” Bellatrix chuckled. “Sometimes I feel as if you can understand every word I say.”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione opened her eyes and looked up.</span>
</p>
<p>“<span>Whatever happens tomorrow, thanks for offering a listening ear,” said Bellatrix. “Though I hope you won't be too sad when I won't be here tomorrow, I rather like the idea of at least one person mourning me, even if it's just a strange bird such as yourself.”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione rolled to her back, throwing her strong legs into the air while presenting her soft belly for scratches. Bellatrix let out a brief cackle and did so vigorously.</span>
</p>
<p>“<span>Watch the talons, girl!” Bellatrix laughed when Hermione's legs started kicking out uncontrollably due to delicious belly rubs. Bellatrix' joyous laughter mixed with Hermione's equally joyous warbles.</span></p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>There'd been a traitor in their midst. Bellatrix just knew it!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From the moment they had entered the clock tower, they had been met with resistance. Resistance which was far stronger than expected both in numbers and skill. Someone had betrayed them. Someone told them they'd be coming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bellatrix' infiltration party has been ten men strong when they'd entered. Scant five minutes later, Bellatrix was the last witch standing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Panting heavily after dodging assailants in the corridors of Hogwarts, her body was covered with magical burns, cuts and bruises. Oh, she was fully expecting to die today, but that didn't mean she would go down without a fight. Yes, death was the only outcome here, she knew that now, but she would take as much of these bastards with her to the afterlife as she could before she would perish.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She heard voices from the other side for the corridor: she had given her pursuers the shake for now, but they were hunting for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Good.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Let them come!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With grim determination, Bellatrix slipped into a different corridor and stuck close to the walls with wand in hand. From the sounds coming from the courtyard, the battle was still going strong. In fact, she was about to come up to one of the defensive positions in the upper towers. Though her group had been decimated, she would honor herself and House Black by being the sole witch of her squad to achieve the goal of their mission.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were some ten entrenched defenders here, all with their back turned to them. She grinned wickedly: one quick bombarda would blast them all off the tower and would send bloody body-parts ruining down upon the defenders below to further demoralize them. She raised her wand and got ready.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But then, she paused. There was someone she recognized.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Andie's little girl was among them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her resolve crumbled. Nymphadora Tonks and herself held no love for each other, that much was clear. But she knew how much the girl meant to Andie. It was one thing to boast about 'pruning the family tree', but it was a completely different thing to actually do it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bellatrix closed her eyes and rolled back behind a pillar, pressing her back against it. “Fuck,” she whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If she did what she was planning to do, Andie would suffer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Andie had suffered enough at her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay. A simple, glorious death, then. One witch versus ten battle-mages in fair combat. She could take down three or four... maybe even five or six. But ten? No.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bellatrix decided she would purposefully avoid attacking Nymphadora. It would be ironic if Nymphadora would be the one to kill her, now wouldn't it? Perhaps even poetic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She opened her eyes again and smiled. She was ready and her heart felt surprisingly light. Bellatrix was about to turn around and announce her presence when she instead felt two eyes piercing into her very soul. At her feet, looking up at her, was her strange bird friend. It simply stood there, tail in the air and giving her a questioning look.</span>
</p>
<p>“<span>What... what are you doing here?” she whispered softly while on the other side of the tower, the ten defenders were shouting and slinging spells into the courtyard.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Quick as a flash, her bird-friend jumped up and snatched the wand from her hand with her maw.</span>
</p>
<p>“<span>Hey!” Bellatrix hissed as her bird-friend instantly ran off into the corridor. Being wandless so far behind enemy lines was certainly not the best situation to find herself in and and Bellatrix cursed before running after her.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Her bird-friend was certainly speedy as she ran from corridor to corridor with a snarling dark witch in tow, demanding her wand back with a soft hissing whisper. The merry chase let her through the clock tower courtyard and the bridge beyond, alongside the Quidditch pitch and the edge of the Forbidden Forest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bellatrix was panting heavily now, running taking its toll on her. She threw a few wandless stunners at her bird-friend which she, of course, effortlessly dodged. By now, the sounds of battle could no longer be heard as they entered the forest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Curious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bellatrix knew for a fact that her bird-friend could run much faster than she currently did. Did... did she want her to follow her?</span>
</p>
<p>Tired, battered and bruised, Bellatrix was in a state of near collapse when she finally emerged at their familiar grove, where her bird-friend was already perched on the shale stone with her wand in her mouth.</p>
<p>Panting heavily, Bellatrix dragged herself to the stone and lay on her back, eyes up to the sky. Morning had broken and the dawn was chasing away the night bit by bit. As she fought to catch her breath, the face of her bird-friend hovered above and dropped her wand onto her chest.</p>
<p>“That's... that's... a fine mess... you've... gotten me... into,” Bellatrix struggled to say. Once she had caught enough breath, she sat up. Her bird-friend curled up against her and lay her head in her lap. Immediately, Bellatrix treated her to some scratches.</p>
<p>“I should be angry with you,” Bellatrix whispered.</p>
<p>Her only answer was a soft warble.</p>
<p>Pain shot through her body, concentrating on her forearm. Bellatrix grit her teeth and grunted in agony... a few moments later, she saw that her Dark Mark had faded into a barely-visible scar.</p>
<p>It was over. The Dark Lord had fallen.</p>
<p>Funny. She thought she'd be more upset.</p>
<p>When she turned her head, however, her bird-friend was gone. Instead, next to her now sat a girl. A girl she recognized as the young girl she had... <em>met</em><span>...</span> at the manor. The young girl looked at her with watery brown eyes, so intently that Bellatrix couldn't even fumble for her wand.</p>
<p>“I'm sorry...” spoke the girl. “I just... I just couldn't let you die.”</p>
<p>Her voice was full of regret, but also a measure of pride and... something else Bellatrix couldn't place. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. The girl and her bird-friend were one and the same.</p>
<p>The dark witch was still stunned when the girl lay on her side and placed her head in her lap just as she had done while in her other form. The girl didn't flinch, didn't hesitate and never showed fear.</p>
<p>And when Bellatrix ran her hand through the girl's long brown hair, it felt just as soft as her feathers had been.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Looking for a great place to shoot the shit about Bellamione and other Black Sister ships? Click the link to join the Bellamione Coven Discord.</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://discord.gg/rAKhWJQ"> Linky link to the discord</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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